Congratulations!!

[Jack Tarlin]

I see that tomorrow is the fifteenth of October, and while Baxter State Park will of course remain open for later finishers, most members of the Class of 2009 will have completed their hikes by now (I'm obviously referring to Northbounders for the time being).

I just wanted to say congratulations to any Whiteblaze folks who thru-hiked this past year, and it'd be very nice to hear from some of you, especially with comments on your summit day.

I also hope that many of you folks stick around here at Whiteblaze and offer your insights and suggestions to the new guys, for as recently minted thru-hikers, you're in a unique position to help the folks who'll be leaving for their hikes in just a few months.

[TOW]

Well said Jack!

[Bulldawg]

Congrats to all of them!!

[Blissful]

Congratulations!

[Gator 65]

Jack,
Thanks for your congrats. I summited on a beautiful morning on the 26th of Sept. with hardly any wind and crisp temp. I just want to say that my wife and I used your re-supply info the entire trip and it was fantastic. I passed in on to other hikers once we got to Harpers Ferry who also sent it to their support people back home so we all went into town and managed our "nero's and zero;s together and managed to stay together for the last half of the trip. I would advise anyone who is planning a thru hike or even a section hike to make your Info. a "must read". It literally saved me several days on the trail and made the re-supply a stress free, smooth event. Thanks again!

Gator 65

[Foyt20]

Congrats to all!!!!

[RedneckRye]

I see that tomorrow is the fifteenth of October, and while Baxter State Park will of course remain open for later finishers, most members of the Class of 2009 will have completed their hikes by now (I'm obviously referring to Northbounders for the time being).

I just wanted to say congratulations to any Whiteblaze folks who thru-hiked this past year, and it'd be very nice to hear from some of you, especially with comments on your summit day.

I also hope that many of you folks stick around here at Whiteblaze and offer your insights and suggestions to the new guys, for as recently minted thru-hikers, you're in a unique position to help the folks who'll be leaving for their hikes in just a few months.

Congrats to all who finished the hike and stood on top of the Big K this fall.
Congrats to all who went to Springer with the plan to stand on top of the Big K.

I was up there crying by the sign 10 years ago and few days ago (10-13-99)

Like Jack said, I hope you stay active here on Whiteblaze, but also check ALDHA and try to make it out to the Gathering sometime.

aldha.org is the site, here is the link to join for $10 per year...
http://www.aldha.org/form.htm

[Ramble~On]

Thanks Jack!
I climbed Katahdin Oct. 8th which was a Class III day and beautiful in a frozen, windy kind of way.

[Maddog]

congrats to the class of 2009!

[Pickleodeon]

Thanks everyone. I summited, along with my hiking bud, Trusty, Sept 12th with a Class I day. The weather was awesome for our last few weeks on the trail, especially compared to our first 4 months on the trail
My dad and boyfriend climbed it with us too, and I think they gained even more respect for us after Katahdin.

[GeneralLee10]

I hope to be saying this to myself next year.

Way to go all of you!

[warraghiyagey]

My dad and boyfriend climbed it with us too, and I think they gained even more respect for us after Katahdin.

It's a great set-up cuz you can tell them the whole trail was like that. . .

[sarahgirl]

Congratulations ladies and gents!

Once ya'll get reaquainted with city life, I would love to hear highlights/lowlights of your journey.

[Ron Haven]

I also would like to congradulate all the summitors too and thanks for all of you that has sent us a picture to add on the wall in the computer room at Budget Inn.
Thanks also to all of you who stopped into Franklin and gave Me,Mrs Janet and our crew the chance to meet you.As you are going back in to regular everyday life"GOD BLESS". Ron Haven & Family

[peter_pan]

Congrats... Well Hiked.

Pan

[The Weasel]

Congratulations to those who have completed what many of us aspire to achieve.

TW

[ShelterLeopard]

[clapping and cheering] CONGRATS!



Seriously, well done to everyone who made it.

[Bottom Bunk]

Thanks everyone!

I summited 10/11 and going up was simply sublime. We had a beautiful, clear first half of the climb with great views of the surrounding mountains and amazing fall colors. Once we got to The Tableland though, the clouds and wind moved in rapidly and it actually began to snow (a first for me this trip). The remainder of the hike was like walking through Antarctica, with plenty of snow and huge sheets of ice everywhere. Saw more than a few cotton-clad day hikers running back down for their lives and was even passed by a young kid frantically waving his arms and screaming "You'll never make it!!!" We were all floating right up at this point though and arrived at Baxter Peak grinning ear to ear. The sign finally came into sight and we almost broke into a run, but interestingly enough did not go tag it immediately - the emotions were just too overwhelming. It's impossible to accurately describe the moment, but it was certainly an intense rush of many different emotions: (sheer) joy, relief, pride, and even some sadness that such a wonderful experience was coming to an end. It was the positive feelings that we concentrated on though and the celebration was most definitely on!

It may have been better to have had calm, see-for-100-mile conditions, but I think the vast difference from base to peak and the semi-extreme weather on the summit provided a dramatic and fitting end to my hike.

Many, many thanks to the many, many people who helped me along the way and made this trip the most beautiful experience of my life! Thanks too, to both Ron and Jack for making my visits to their respective towns so much better!

Oh and while the thanks are flying, I would be amiss not to mention the WB community - my gratitude definitely runs deep to this site, which was the most helpful single source of information when I was preparing for the walk. Thanks to all and congratulations to The Class Of 2009!!

[Jeff]

Bottom Bunk,

Glad to read that you made it!! I recall going up Katahdin on adrenalin. Makes the climb fly by.

Jeff of Green Mountain House

[Bottom Bunk]

Bottom Bunk,

Glad to read that you made it!! I recall going up Katahdin on adrenalin. Makes the climb fly by.

Jeff of Green Mountain House

Hey Jeff!

Yeah, the adrenaline really started at Pemadumcook Lake when I got my first clear view of Momma K, but it really kicked in as we were going up.

Thanks go out to you as well, you have a beautiful hostel and I had a great time in Manchester Center!